School spirit. follows you everywhere na?

So that was fun....

I met Lia again after a whole year...

We got dropped off at Starbucks by mom. Did I mention I was in a GREAT mood? I mean. really happy and all. And I babble when I'm happy.

Anyway, I order my usual mocha and the guys behind the counter just fall about laughing. I do not see what they find so funny....."stop laughing!" I tell them, they laugh some more.sigh.

I ask Lia if she wants to eat, she says not really, but we both have our eye on this very rich, dark looking brownie........the last one in the place...

"lets order it" she says......

"Excuse me..." says a guy next to us. "I was just gonna order that"

"well, so were we."

"so, you want a fight?"

"Nah, do you? So I'm just gonna order. okay?" I say.

"marble brownie!" we scream in unison at the perplexed barista. I'm thoroughly enjoying this. So is Lia, so are the baristas.

"Oh come on," says the guy. "I'm a tourist, is this how you treat visitors?"

"Where're you from?"

"Bombay"

"So am I...."

"But you LIVE here!" he whines...

"Aww, but we're girls...."Lia says, batting her eyelashes.

The man just wants the brownie.

sigh.

"You study here, which school?"

"why?....." I ask suspiciously, one should never immediately give out the name of one's school....

"well, there are lots of them..."

"ok, ISM" I tell him. Lia's technically an ex-student now.

"well," he points to a friend," he's ex-ISM too...."

The friend mutters something about not talking to strangers.....

Many snide comments follow, but after he makes the ultimate deal "okay, you have it, but then you pay for whatever I eat...", we decide it's not worth it, and let him have it... nice people that we are....

"hope you have indigestion," mutters Lia. Actually, I hope he enjoyed it...it would be a crime not to enjoy that brownie....

Funny-guy's a counselor in Dubai, his job description is "telling people what they already know and then charging them money for it. Kinda like tuitions. you go to PK or Abraham in school, and then you go to them for tuitions to learn something you alredy know...."

"you're ex-ISM too?" Lia asks...

"yeah," he proceeds to do a spot on imitation of Lia's ex chem teacher.

By this time, they've totally forgotten my drink....I jog the barista's memory and get it. We sit, we can finally talk.

Lia's yet another close friend who left.....Now in Trichur, boarding school, PC thomas' entrance coaching....so disconnected from mail and phone, since PC lives in the middle ages.....

But she's found herself now...she can just go up and talk to strangers....she's lost 17 kgs (we checked out before and after pics of us....me with the overgrowing eyebrows, her with the weight....dear lord we were an unlikely pair..)..And she actually danced for her annual day programme.....she's so...happy.

We sat on the beach at my fave spot....watching the waves...so beautiful how they curled and crashed over the steps at the Shatti...talking about how most of her old friends had changed so much...talking about everything that'd happened since she'd been gone...

She had a lot to say bout how I say I don't care about what people say, then why do I blog?

Well, I kinda like blogging. In some weird way, it helps. And I don't want to care, most of me doesn't....but there's a bit at the core which does. Sigh. Mostly I ignore that bit. And the blog.....helps.....in some way, it's really important...

Anyway, we caught a cab (Li's first time without a parent) and went off to OBC..bowling....It was fun, I haven't bowled in a while. I bowled 72, which is crap for others, but for me it's pretty good.

Yeah, It was fun. I Re-found an old friend....one that I'll never lose.....Love ya...